Agence France-Presse
In Reports on March Deficit, Wire Services 'Forget' to Tell Readers Sp
April 12th, 2011 7:33 PM
In a business that is supposed to treat record achievements, dubious or otherwise, as news, it's more than a little curious to note that the Associated Press's Martin Crutsinger, along with Reuters and AFP, all "somehow" forgot to tell readers that March's reported federal outlays, as seen in the Monthly Treasury Statement released today, came in at an all-time record of $339.047 billion, and…
AFP News: Many of America’s Problems Predated Obama
April 5th, 2011 12:43 AM
A news article written by a reporter at AFP and reproduced at such news sites as Google, Yahoo, NPR, the Dallas Morning News, and others, might qualify as an example of what happens when one allows opinion to seep into reporting. Despite a mission statement involving claims that AFP coverage is balanced, accurate, and includes the other side of the story, this piece makes no secret of where…
ABC Omits Jane Russell's Pro-Life Views, Cites Her 'Back Alley Abortio
March 2nd, 2011 7:47 PM
On Tuesday's World News, ABC's David Wright highlighted actress Jane Russell's "botched back-alley abortion in high school," which led her to push "hard to expand adoption," but he failed to mention that she described herself as "vigorously pro-life," and that she was a conservative activist.
Wright's report aired at the end of the evening news program. The correspondent spent most of the…
When Reporting on the Catholic Church, Media Can't Even Get Headlines
November 13th, 2010 3:34 PM
(HT: Phil Lawler/CatholicCulture.org) Major news outlets delivered a collective message about the Catholic Church this week. Here were the headlines:
"Pope orders sex abuse summit" (Boston Globe)
"Pope to Hold Sex-Abuse Summit" (Wall Street Journal)
"Italy: Cardinals to Ponder Response by Church to Sexual Abuse Cases" (New York Times)
"Pope summons cardinals over abuse: Vatican…
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Clueless AFP Portrays Coffee Party as a Major Political Force
October 26th, 2010 10:18 AM
Somebody should send a message to the absolutely clueless AFP (Agence France-Presse) news agency: the Coffee Party today is about as signficant a political force as the Prohibition Party. However, in this AFP story by Edouard Guihaire the Coffee Party, which pretty much died almost at birth, is portrayed as a major political force on a par with the Tea Party. Perhaps Guihaire is new to America…
AP's Econ Coverage Continues Singular Focus on Bernanke, Non-Naming of
August 28th, 2010 10:18 AM
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's first full day as the only person in the whole wide world with any kind of influence over what happens in the economy didn't go too badly. That's the impression one might get from consuming two Friday Associated dispatches and a related AP Video. Bernanke apparently took full charge of anything and everything having to do with the economy on Thursday evening. As…
O, M, G -- Price Tag for One New LA K-12 Complex: $578 Mil
August 22nd, 2010 8:40 PM
Call it "No Contractor Left Behind." The Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools in Los Angeles, apparently opening soon, will serve roughly 4,200 students in grades K-12. Its cost is coming in at $578 million, or almost $140,000 per student ($2.75 million per 20-student classroom). This is the LA Unified District's most flagrant example of its Taj Mahal obsession, and it is far from the only one.…
Wire Watch: Rostenkowski Name That Party Round-up (See Update
August 12th, 2010 12:46 AM
Wednesday evening, Brent Baker at NewsBusters noted that two of the Big Three television networks failed to tag Dan Rostenkowsi, the former long-time congressman from Chicago who was ousted from his seat in 1994 over corruption charges and ended doing prison time, as a Democrat. Rostenkowski (RIP), who was 82, died yesterday. At the five major wire services whose reports I reviewed -- The…
87 Senators Sign Letter Urging Obama's Support of Israel, Media Mostly
June 24th, 2010 1:12 AM
On Monday, 87 Senators signed a letter to President Obama affirming their support for Israel while urging his.This comes in response to last month's highly-publicized flotilla incident in the Mediterranean Sea and the United Nations predictable anti-Israel reaction.A similar letter has been circulated in the House that has apparently garnered 307 signatures.Despite the overwhelming bipartisan…
Revolutionary Rot, But News It's Not: AP Ignores Venezuela's 'Battle f
June 22nd, 2010 12:15 PM
Late last year, a story carried by the wire service AFP reported on an announcement by Venezuela's Hugo Chavez that his government would launch "a new chain of government-run, cut-rate retail stores that will sell everything from food to cars to clothing." Chavez reportedly said that these "discount socialist stores" would show people "what a real market is all about, not those speculative, money…
Obama's 'Grocery Scanner' Moment (Except That It's Not Made Up) Mostly
May 10th, 2010 1:48 PM
Yesterday, in the midst of the commencement address he delivered at Hampton University, President Obama made a startling "admission" (readers will see why "admission" is in quotes shortly): And meanwhile, you're coming of age in a 24/7 media environment that bombards us with all kinds of content and exposes us to all kinds of arguments, some of which don't always rank that high on the truth meter…
AFP Asks: 'Is US Bullying Toyota on Recall?' Rest of Media Indifferent
February 6th, 2010 2:11 AM
In a post late Thursday afternoon (at NewBusters; at BizzyBlog), I noted that the half of the teases (6 of 12) for the Associated Press's short videos in business stories at its web site were about Toyota, specifically its recent product quality issues and falling sales.In that post, I noted a conflict of interest in the relationship between the U.S. government and Toyota, and wondered when…
Obama Continues to Break Promises, Media Ignores
January 31st, 2010 1:05 AM
Watching the media's inability to find relevant investigative news during the Obama era is like watching a bald-headed fellow named Fudd hunting for ‘wabbit'. Such is the case of the main stream media's complete and utter ignorance involving the administration recently steering a $25 million no-bid contract to a Democratic campaign contributor. While Fox News reporter James Rosen did an in-…
Venezuela Slipping Into Socialist/Statist Darkness, Figuratively and L
January 10th, 2010 6:33 PM
Four recent stories out of Venezuela each give readers brief glimpses at how Hugo Chavez's brand of authoritarian socialism is critically wounding what could be a resource-rich, financially prosperous country: January 9, Associated Press -- "Venezuela weakens currency for 1st time in 5 years." January 10, Bloomberg -- "Chavez Says He’ll Seize Businesses That Raise Prices." December 22, AFP…